Sen. Tim Kaine came to Arlington last night or a “Neighbor to Neighbor” conversation (see video below). Kaine notes that he just did 41 events in 9 days, in 10 of the 11 Congressional districts, with the one exception being VA-08 (which Arlington is part of). Last night, Kaine appeared with Arlington County Board Democratic nominee Matt de Ferranti. Kaine emphasized that he’s running as part of a Democratic team this year:
“25 of the [41 events he did recently] 25 of them were with Democrats running for Congress…We have seven very dynamic challengers…I did multiple events with all of them all over the state…If I run my race really well, I can help House [candidates] flip seats. If we can flip some seats in Virginia, we can take a majority in the U.S. House for Democrats…We [will] get chairmen…hearings…we get to subpoena the witnesses…the documents…We also get the chance to take back the Senate…We have an opportunity to run and win…as a team and that’s a real contrast with the other side…My opponent Corey Stewart…Republicans running for Congress are trying to figure out ways not to be on stage with him…
By the way, Kaine also noted that he’s not just doing events with Congressional Democratic candidates, but also local Democratic candidates. Check out the full video, below, including an interesting, lengthy Q&A session which really demonstrated both Kaine’s deep, extensive policy chops and his ability to connect with people. In November, let’s make sure that Sen. Kaine is reelected in a landslide!
P.S. Kaine explained his position on Brett Kavanaugh, which is that he has significant concerns/questions which he wants to address to Kavanaugh directly, meet with him in his office, transcribe his answers, then watch the Judiciary Committee hearings before he decides how he’s going to vote. Why is Kaine pursuing this strategy? Because Kaine wants to “stretch this out as long as [possible]…I don’t think there should be a vote until after November, even in committee…that’s the precedent that McConnell set.” Also, Kaine believes that we need time to dig into Kavanaugh’s “voluminous” record and that “as long as this vacancy is out there, Mueller is protected.” Democrats who immediately declare they will vote no on Kavanaugh won’t get a meeting, which means the nomination will move through faster.
P.P.S. Kaine said he’s “not in an ‘abolish ICE’ crowd, we’ve got to have border security”; we need to change the policies. Like the large majority of Americans, Kaine wants comprehensive immigration reform (which, he noted, passed the U.S. Senate with 68 votes but then wasn’t even considered in the House).
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